Amherst College Responds to Hurricane Katrina

Letter from Amherst College President Tony Marx and Williams College President Morton Schapiro, September 9, 2005

To All Members of the Amherst and Williams Community:

Uncommon times call for uncommon efforts. When the extent of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina became clear, Williams and Amherst, along with many other colleges, sought ways to help. We soon realized we might be able to do more together than separately. To maximize the impact of our efforts the two schools decided to try to help keep intact an important and successful program at one of the campuses that had been hardest hit.

In particular we had in mind the legendary pre-medical program at Xavier University of Louisiana. This historically black institution has a phenomenal record at placing students in medical school, and it was painful to think that such an important pipeline might be broken for a while.

We believed that, with the cooperation of many on our two campuses, we had the capacity to support some of Xavier’s pre-med students and faculty. We also recognized quickly that the presence on our campus of such exceptional students and distinguished colleagues would be of benefit to both schools.

People at Amherst and Williams have been working hard for the past week to organize things on this end. We’ve been pleased, though not surprised, at the many offers of support from individuals on both campuses.

The situation in New Orleans, of course, makes organization difficult on that end. Students had to scatter when the storm came. Faculty and staff were dispersed as well and cut off from their offices and usual forms of communication. Some days ago the university announced that it will try to open in January and encouraged students to make any educational arrangements that seemed best for them for the fall.

We have now gotten to the stage in which communication with individual Xavier pre-meds has begun. The situation is fluid, and we won’t know exact numbers for a while.

Many logistical challenges remain. But both Amherst and Williams are dedicated to doing all that we can to help as many of these students and faculty as possible.

Coordinating these efforts at Williams is Bill Lenhart, Professor of Computer Science and former Acting Dean of the Faculty. He can be reached at 413/597-2371. At Amherst it is Dean of Students Ben Lieber, 413/542-2337. Feel free to contact them with your suggestions and questions.

Thank you to all who have already helped with this planning and to the many more who will help welcome these very special visitors.

Regards,

Anthony W. Marx
President, Amherst College

Morton Owen Schapiro
President, Williams College